Fijian-Style Chicken Curry
This Fijian-style chicken curry is a deeply aromatic, slow-simmered dish built on toasted whole spices, curry leaves, and bone-in chicken. Mustard, fenugreek, and cumin seeds crackle in oil before being layered with onions, garlic, ginger, chiles, and warm spices for a richly spiced base. Simmered with potatoes until tender and finished with lemon and fresh cilantro, this comforting curry delivers bold flavor, a fragrant broth, and a satisfying balance of heat and warmth, perfectly served over steamed rice.
Tasty Team
Total Time
1 hr 30 min
1 hr 30 min
Prep Time
15 minutes
15 min
Cook Time
1 hr 15 min
1 hr 15 min
Total Time
1 hr 30 min
1 hr 30 min
Prep Time
15 minutes
15 min
Cook Time
1 hr 15 min
1 hr 15 min
Ingredients
for 6 servings
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and crushed
- 1 fresh green Thai chile, crushed
- 1 roma tomato, diced
- 8 fresh curry leaves
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 3 lb bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, chopped into 1-inch pieces (cutting through bone as needed)
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 6 small red baby potatoes, halved
- 4–5 cups water, plus more if needed
- Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- cooked jasmine rice, for serving
- Fresh tomato-cilantro chutney, for serving
Nutrition Info
- Calories 613
- Fat 25g
- Carbs 40g
- Fiber 4g
- Sugar 1g
- Protein 58g
Estimated values based on one serving size.
Preparation
- Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high until shimmering, about 1 minute. Add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and cumin seeds. Cook, stirring often, until they crackle and smell toasted, 1–2 minutes. Add the onion, and stir to coat in the spiced oil. Cook, stirring every minute, until the onion softens, turns translucent, and develops deep golden-brown edges, 8–10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the garlic, ginger, and Thai chile to a mortar with a pinch of salt and pound with a pestle until crushed into a coarse paste, about 2–3 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.
- Add the garlic paste, tomato, and curry leaves to the onion mixture in the pot; stir well to combine. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot, until the mixture becomes glossy and deeply fragrant and the tomato breaks down, 3–4 minutes.
- Add the curry powder, turmeric, chili powder, and garam masala to the onion mixture in the pot. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is evenly coated and the spices darken slightly and smell toasted, 2–3 minutes (add a small splash of water if the mixture starts to stick to the pot or scorch).
- Add the chicken and salt to the onion mixture in the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is lightly browned, 10–12 minutes. Add the potatoes, and stir to thoroughly combine, making sure the chicken and potatoes are evenly coated. Cook, stirring once or twice, until you see moisture pooling at the bottom of the pot, about 2 minutes.
- Pour 4 cups of the water into the chicken mixture in the pot, and bring to a rolling boil over high heat, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot as it bubbles.
- Reduce the heat under the pot to medium-low. Cover and simmer gently until the chicken is very tender and the potatoes are cooked through, 30–40 minutes, uncovering to stir every 10 minutes.
- Taste the chicken mixture, and add more salt to taste. If desired, add up to the remaining 1 cup water, and simmer, uncovered, for 3–5 minutes to bring the flavors back together. Add half of the lemon juice to the mixture, then taste and add more juice if needed. Stir in the cilantro, and cook, undisturbed, just until the herbs wilt and the curry smells fresh and bright, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. If desired, remove and discard the curry leaves.
- Spoon the mixture evenly over cooked rice in 6 bowls, spooning plenty of broth over the top. Serve alongside the fresh tomato-cilantro chutney.
- Enjoy!
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